What the team(s) and agents talk about remains to be seen, but Callahan, 28, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is looking for about $6 million a year for seven years, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. New York, wisely, is hesitant to pay him that much money.

"Right now, we only have one team we can negotiate with and we're trying to do that in good faith," Callahan's agent Steve Bartlett told LeBrun on Friday. "I always retain hope that something can get done. But if it doesn't, that's the business. I never tell a GM if he's right or wrong, I just present what I believe is right for my client."

Allowing Bartlett to gauge other teams' willingness to make that decision is wise; if, say, an extension is agreed upon while Callahan is still Ranger property, his trade value will be maximized.

And really, it should be noted that $42 million (or whatever) for Callahan over seven years is too much money, and too much term. He turns 29 in March, which puts him on the statistical downswing of his career, and plays a physical game that doesn't tend to hold up well with age.

Example: Two seasons ago, he scored 29 goals, stayed healthy and played difficult minutes. This season, he's been hurt three separate times and has nine goals in 38 games while starting a larger portion of his shifts in the offensive zone than ever before. He's also spending less time on the penalty kill, which was a major part of his skill set.

Does that make him a bad player? Of course not. Mix in intangibles, and he remains an eminently easy player to like. Plus, the salary cap figures to keep rising, which has to be something of a consideration. But seven years is a long time, especially for a player who could be past his prime — and $6 million for a 34-year-old Callahan, no matter how high the cap is, could well wind up a sunk cost. It's tough to blame the Rangers for trying to avoid that, especially if they're focused more on the future than this season.

It's also easy to see a Cup contender looking at Callahan as a missing piece — if he's healthy, he's still a very good player. Given his asking price, though, it might be better to rent than own.